Crippled in the Games
by ticktock22
Summary: Remember the crippled boy from the 74th Hunger Games? Well this is his life, death and adventure.
1. Chapter 1

_**Crippled in the Games**_

The story is about the boy that Katniss noticed in her first Hunger Games that was crippled. Sorry that this chapter is so short. The next one will definitely be longer._**  
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Chapter 1

I stand in the boy's section with my only friend, Mon, at the reaping. I can see the nervousness on his face, but I bet that my face looks about ten times worse. The idea of being thrown into the Hunger Games has always scared me because of my crippled foot. I was born crippled so I've always been used to it, but it'll definitely slow me down in the Games.

Some days, I wish I could live in District 1, 2 or 4 so if I ever got picked, a Career would be bound to volunteer. Volunteering in District 10, my home, is very rare, co I can't count on it.

Our escort, Anieta, looks the same as she did last year; silver tattoos on her face an dark purple hair. Like all of the other escorts, as they do every year, she calls out, "Ladies first!" I'm scared for my sister, Klia, who's 18, who has a very large chance of being picked, who is so kind and who couldn't kill a soul.

Anieta plunges her hand in the reaping bowl and pulls out the slip. She reads it, then calls out, "Ginger Brayfield!" The disappointment in the crowd is obvious.

Ginger is one of the best livestock workers in all of District 10, even though she is only 15. When any animal escapes, she is always the first one to bring it back unharmed, without a scratch on herself. Ginger never complains about work and is good with the animals, but can slaughter them without thinking twice about it. Now that I've thought about it, Ginger has a good chance of winning.

She walks up to the stage with a mask of seriousness on her face, but I can tell that fear is underneath. Anieta calls out for volunteers, but all you can hear is silence. I guess nobody wants to risk their lives for the best worker this district will ever see. I quickly dismiss my sarcasm because I think I would die if Klia volunteered for Ginger.

Anieta strolls across the stage and throws her hand into the boy's bowl. I'm worried for Mon and my little brother, Lemmy. It's his second reaping, but I still think it would be unfair if he was chosen.

She pulls out a slip and says in a loud voice, "Timothy Kelbon!" I realized I should have been worried for myself because this just can't be happening, not to me. It is happening and I know it. I'll be going into the arena unless someone volunteers. A new fear springs into my head just then.

"Don't volunteer for me," I say to Mon.

"But-"

"No! I'll never forgive you."

I can tell by the look on his face that he's not going to volunteer so I walk up to the stage. From here, I can see Lemmy. It looks like he is going to speak up. I give him a look and shake my head. That look on his face goes away.

When Anieta up for volunteers nobody speaks up. I'm a little disappointed, but it's better than having Lemmy up here.

After the Treaty of Treason goes on and on and on, the mayor has me and Ginger shake hands. As we turn back to the crowd, he announces, "Ladies and Gentlemen of Panem, I present to you the District 10 tributes of the 74th Panem Annual Hunger Games!"

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Peacekeepers hustle Ginger and me to the Justice Building and put us in our separate rooms. I stare at the plain white walls. Plain and uninteresting. Reminds me of myself. I take a seat on the dark velvet couch and await the few people who care about me. My family comes first.

Lemmy and my other nine-year-old sister, Dade, run to me. Dade is already violently sobbing and Lemmy has tears in his eyes and is fighting hard not to cry. When I hold them in my arms, Lemmy can't hold it in and starts to cry. My 20-year-old sister, Lenei comes in with Klia in her arms. Klia's face is filled with despair and has watery eyes. Lenei doesn't seem to be teary-eyed, but has a look of sympathy painted on her face. My parents come in last. Watery droplets roll down my mother's face as my father tries to comfort her.

"I should've volunteered! Why didn't you let me volunteer? I'm so sorry Timothy. I'm sorry!" Lemmy cries.

"It's okay. It's okay,"I say in a comforting tone."I would never forgive myself if I let you go into that arena. I'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

Lemmy's sobs quiet out and Dade looks up at me. "Will you be okay?"

"Just fine,"I reply.

"Be brave, Timothy. Don't give up," Lenei says, who now kneels beside me.

My parents sit beside me on the velvet couch. "You are a wonderful person, Timothy. No matter what, I'll always love you," says my mother inbetween sobs.

"You'll always be my boy,"my father says and then squeezes my shoulder in a reassuring way.

Klia just stands there and looks at me. The tears start to drip from her face. She just runs to me and gives me a hug. She was never one with words.

After my family finishes with good-byes, they leave. A few minutes later, Mon comes in.

Unlike my family, there are no tears in his eyes, just seriousness. "Timothy, I know you too well. You've already given up on yourself because of your foot. You think you can't do it because you're not strong enough or fast enough. Forget all of that! You can do it. I know this may seem cliche, but you just have to believe in yourself. Don't give up so easily!"

I realize how well Mon knows me. I know I'm not coming back. I know it for a fact. How will a crippled boy win against a big and strong career? I am using logic, simple as that. Mon just wants me alive and to try. I will try, but it'll be no use.

"Promise. Promise you'll actually try to win,"Mon says.

"I promise. I'll try my best."

"See you soon, Timothy."

"See you soon, Mon."

After Mon exits my room, nobody else comes in, just like I thought.

I just sit there and think about how seeing my death on live TV will destroy my family and Mon. Mon has always been my friend when no one else would be. We are both made fun of, even though he is perfectly normal. When I die, he won't even have a friend. He'll die when I die, not physically, but emotionally he will be dead.

The Peacekeepers take me out of my room and to the train. Ginger is beside me again and she was clearly crying. I don't blame her. If I was that impotant to the district and had tons of friends who cared about me, I would be crying too.

We take a seat on the train and stay silent. As it starts to pull out of the station, I think about what Mother always said to me when I was scared of being reaped, "What are the odds? What are the odds of the only crippled boy in the district to be reaped?" _These are the odds Mother. They clearly weren't in my favor._

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We just sit there. Ginger and I. Two tributes sitting in silence. Ginger exhales loudly like she is about to say something but no words come out of her mouth so I let some come out of mine, "This'll be a good time, like a nice big party. Except for the fact that the parting gift is getting killed."

Ginger laughs and I know I've succeeded. I love humor. It's one of the things I"m actually good at.

Trelbunk, the latest Victor of District 10 who won the 69th Hunger Games, comes in. "It's time for dinner. Freshen up if you need to." He looks like he's scanning us as his eyes stare at Ginger and me. His neutral expression becomes grim when he sees my foot. He gives me a slight scowl. I don't think he likes me. As he "scans" Ginger too, his reaction is completely different. His grimace becomes a smile as he sees her strong arms and legs and the fierceness and determination in her emerald green eyes. He nods at her and she nods back. I never knew mentors picked favorites. I guess they do when I'm a tribute.

As we walk to our rooms, Ginger speaks for the first time today. "Oh," she says with a chuckle and a fake wipe of her eye. "He really doesn't like you."

I let a small laugh come out of my disappointment. "Tell me something I don't know." I go into my room and take a look at myself in the mirror. I look pretty handsome if you look at my face, but the second you take a look at the foot, I'm anything but that.

I get to the dinner table and there are four people already there. Anieta, Trelbunk, Salety, the Victor of 48th of Hunger Games, and Chersh, Victor of 35th Hunger Games. "Why hello Timothy!" Anieta says in her beautiful, whispy, yet cheerful voice.

Salety gives me a smile. She's much nicer than Trelbunk. Chersh looks at me with sadness. He's had mental issues ever since he was crowned Victor. My mother says everyone was surprised when Salety won because Chersh was such a terrible mentor.

I sit down and take a piece of chicken in a mysterious looking brown sauce. I take a small bite followed by a huge one. It's delicious! It's about 10 times better than the old meat scraps we eat back home. We eat the stuff that the Capitol people won't eat.

Ginger comes in. She has taken her hair out the two braids they were in at the reaping and now her chestnut hair, with tints of orange, flows past her shoulders and masks her face. She takes the only seat left which is between me and Trelbunk. She'll make a nice human wall. I can tell she enjoys the food as much as I do by the way her eyes light up as she takes the first bite. We gorge on the delicacies.

Anieta sits there quietly scheduling our time at the Capitol. From all of the escorts I've I seen on TV, Anieta seems the less annoying. She doesn't talk unless she needs to.

After dinner, we watch th recap of the reapings. I try to remember as many people as I can. There's a beautiful girl from District 1. A boy from District 2 that looks so menacing that I make sure not to forget his name. Cato. A boy from District 4 that reminded of the Victor Finnick Odair. A girl with orange hair that reminds me of a fox from District 5. My reaping is pretty normal. A little 12-year-old girl from District 11. The next reaping catches my attention. A girl from District 12 volunteers for her sister. Her name is Katniss Everdeen.

"That girl's got guts. I don't think she knows what she's getting herself into," says Trelbunk.

"She's just protecting her sister. She's not thinking rationally," says Salety. "I think what she did was really brave."

"Let's stop the talk. Timothy and Ginger, you should go to your rooms and get some sleep."

As we walk to our rooms, Ginger turns to me. "When do you think we'll find out who our mentors are? It's been a while. I thought we'd know by now," she says.

"I don't know. I don't care. I'm pretty sure you'll get Trelbunk and I'll get Salety. Trelbunk really likes you and obviously hates me."

"Well duh, but you never know. He could have a change of heart." There's a slight pause and then we both laugh. "Ok, so that won't happen."

"You could be right. He just might be jealous of my elegance." We both start laughing again when a voice stops us.

"You're the happiest pair of tributes I've ever seen and I've seen a lot of tributes." It's Chersh. He really snuck up on us.

"Uhhhhh..." Ginger starts but doesn't know how to finish.

"It's okay. Be happy while you can, before the Games get you in its death grip and all you feel is pain." He walks away gloomily and suddenly I am very creeped out by Chersh. I know he is mentally disturbed by being in the Games, but he still gives me the a case of the chills.

"That poor man," Ginger says. "I hope we don't turn into him."

"We won't. If you win, you'll be strong enough to keep everything together, like Salety. If I win..., well.., I won't."

Ginger nearly screams at me. "Don't say that, Timothy!"

"It's true. I can't win. I'm not strong," I say indifferently

"You are strong. Maybe not physically, but you have inner strength. You'll definitely die if you give up so easily!"

"You don't understand, Ginger! You're strong and fit. I've never been and never will be. My family loves me so I lie to them, but I refuse to lie to myself. I refuse to!" I shout back.

"You're not being truthful to yourself! You're giving up on yourself!" Her voice quiets, "Just don't. Don't give up on yourself so easily." I realize that Mon said the same exact thing to me earlier that day. "Try."

I try to walk away but Ginger grabs my arm. "Say you'll try."

"I'll try," I sigh.

"That doesn't sound convincing." I look into her eyes and see pain. Does this matter that much to her? How can that be? I take a new look on the matter. I picture little Dade watching me die. Lemmy. Klia. Lenei. My parents. It hurts me to think about. If I love them, I won't give up, will I? No. I can't give up. Ginger and Mon are right, I can't give up.

"No! I won't give up, Ginger."

"That's the answer I was looking for." The next moment happened so fast. Really fast. Ginger holds my head in her hands and presses her lips against mine. What is she doing? I realize she is kissing me. I don't push her away. I let her stay there.

When Ginger pulls back, she looks at me straight in the eye. "Don't tell a soul about this."

I can only choke out two words, "I won't"

She goes into her room and I go into mine. I change into some night clothes and lay in my bed. A new feeling arises in me. I form one thought. I think I might love Ginger and I think she loves me.

**_This chapter was really long! I had to fit a lot things in. I didn't know if a District had two or more mentors if each tribute got a mentor or if they shared a mentor so I just picked that each tribute would get a mentor. Please review!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Just saying now that I don't own the Hunger Games. I'm just a fan nerd.  
**

Chapter 4

I wake up that morning with the sound of Anieta knocking on my door, "You can't sleep all day you know!" she shouts through the closed door.

"Emmmmmmmm..." I moan through the door. I'm not a morning person. Never have been, never will be. Even though every muscle in my body tells me to stay where I am, I listen to my brain and get up.

I dress in a blue shirt and some black pants I found in the dresser door, and then leave for breakfast. The wonderful aromas of everything delicious I can think of, fill my nostrils with magical bliss. I nearly run to the table and quickly consume everything in my reach. After a few minutes I look up to see that everybody's here, except Chersh, but that doesn't surprise me.

"Well, I think that this would be a good time to announce your mentors," says Anieta. _Salety, Salety, Salety. Timothy gets Salety. _I think and hope in my mind as Anieta takes a sip of her tea before she resumes talking. "Ginger, your mentor will be Salety." _What? How's that? I can't get Trelbunk. He wouldn't allow it. I must be getting Chersh then. But he's..._ Before I could finish my thought, Anieta continues speaking."That would mean, Timothy, your mentor will be Trelbunk." _What? Trelbunk? That must be a mistake._

"Trelbunk?" slips out of my mouth in my personal confusion. I try to fix what I said but it's too late. I said it.

"That's right boy. You'll train with me. Asked for you personally," Trelbunk says in a straightforward tone. He then quickly leaves the table.

I finish my breakfast lightning fast, barely even tasting what I put in my mouth. Once I'm finished, I leave the table without saying a word. Maybe someone says something, but I'm not sure. All I know is Trelbunk really hates me, and my life could be in his hands before I know it.

I'm almost to my bedroom when I hear his low voice. I turn to see Trelbunk, his brown hair clear of his piercing green eyes. His eyes have been like that since the day he was crowned Victor. Trelbunk has been scarred. His eyes tell the whole story. "Do you know why I want to mentor you, Timothy?"

"I have no idea," I reply

"I want to mentor you because you might, just might, win, but in order to win you need to know how to fight. I only have trust in myself that I can teach you how to fight. It took all my might not to request Ginger, but Salety will take good care of her."

All of a sudden, the outside goes dark. "What's going on?" I say in a panic.

Some lights flick on. "Don't worry, we're just going through a mountain. Go to the window with Ginger. We'll be in the Capitol soon. The first time you see it is jaw-dropping," says Trelbunk casually.

I go out where Ginger is sitting and wait by the window with her, waiting for the Capitol to appear outside the train window. We don't say anything.

Ginger and I haven't said a word to each other since last night. I don't want to talk about it here, where anyone can overhear our conversation. I'm actually surprised that nobody saw us kiss.

A burst of light then comes through from outside the train. Both Ginger and I gasp in pure amazement. All of the buildings are full of life, even an abandoned one that we just passed by. Not only are they full of life, but the structures are painted in bright colors that scream joy and their roofs reach for the clouds. Everything: the people, the cars, the streets, and even the smoke that comes out of their cigarettes are neon colors. Some of the passer-by's seem to notice us and point and wave. I slowly wave back while Ginger waves back with utter excitement.

"This is wonderful. So pretty. So beautiful!" says Ginger with an expression for a little girl in a candy store. Then I remember that she is a little girl; we are still children. I can't look at this place anymore, though the sight is gorgeous. I am disgusted with any place that puts such a sweet soul's life on the line, like Ginger's, for their personal entertainment. It's terrible!

I go back to my courters, angry at...at...at everything! Why must the Capitol do this to us? What do they have to gain? Why can't they be allies with us, not a tyrant? They do this to show that they are superior, they gain superiocity and they're tyrants to be superior. Tributes aren't killed by each other, superiocity brutally murders them.

The train slows and I stand up quickly and exit my room. We're boarding off the train. As the train doors open, I get some parting words to Ginger, "See you at the Opening Ceremonies."

**Sorry this chapter is so short, but the next one will definitely be longer. Please review! I need to know what people think.**


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